Don't you just hate spoilers? I do, too. That's why I always try to include warnings. However, I sometimes ramble a bit too much here or there and maybe a few (or many) key plot points slip without me giving proper notice. So I'd like to include a blanket spoiler warning for the weary internet travelers of the world: Here There Be Spoilers. You've been warned.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness

I'm not what you'd call a hardcore Trekkie, but I have seen all of the movies (multiple times with the exception of the newest one) and I'm pretty familiar with the first two shows in the series. I just haven't seen all of the episodes yet. So I guess you could put me into the "not quite as obsessed as the usual Trekkie, but still a fan of the show and characters" category of Trekkies. I sure as hell can't speak Klingon, that's for sure.

However, I do happen to know a damn good movie when I see one. Star Trek Into Darkness is a damn good movie. I saw it last night and feel like I need to see it again. And again. There's just so much there and I feel like I need to study the damn movie to really get it. This is the type of movie that will surely divide the Trekkies for a few reasons, but all of that isn't really my concern at the moment. I don't care about what the Trekkies or critics or anyone else might say about this movie because even though I've seen it I still haven't soaked it in just yet. I'm not going to expose myself to something that might taint my memory of such a fresh experience. So I'll say no to even glancing at the IMDB board or just about any other site that talks about movies.

If you saw the 2009 film Star Trek -if you haven't seen Star Trek then what the hell are you doing here? Go watch it and come back to me- then you know that Spock came back in time along with an evil Romulan douchebag on his heels and thus sent history into disarray. Of course, the question as to whether or not the film can count as canon is a relevant one but it is also besides the point.

The point is that this movie takes up where Star Trek left off and leads us further down the rabbit hole of this oddly familiar but different world. Kirk and Spock are pushed in this movie in ways that they haven't quite been pushed before. Ways they wouldn't have been pushed if not for the elder Mr. Spock coming back in time.

Chris Pine has certain acting chops that should win him awards in the future. Or now. That would work just as well. William Shatner is Kirk to me, but Chris Pine is, too. Even more so now I think. Zachary Quinto is back as younger Spock and I think he is also beginning to own his role. In fact, I can say that I don't think I've ever seen Spock whip so much freakin' ass before. That's not a phrase one would usually attribute to a Vulcan, but it works here.

The rest of the cast is exceptionally fine. One name you'll hear floating above the rest is Benedict Cumberbatch. I don't know who the hell he is, but he played the role of villain exceptionally well. Even though I've never heard of him before I'll certainly remember him from now on.

Cumberbatch plays the rogue Starfleet operative John Harrison and while his name may sound dull, you can rest assured that he is most definitely not. In fact, there's quite a bit more to him than meets the eye. And James Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are about to find that out.

I'm not going to say more and I advise you strongly not to search out for more without going to the theater yourself and sitting your butt in the seat. Watch the movie and be thrilled by its surprises.

2 comments:

I finally saw this (on bluray) and was impressed. I like the way they have rebooted the series and are filling in the gaps of the early days of Kirk and Spock. That way we are not watching the same thing over again. Much of what goes on in these two movies was alluded to by Kirk in the original series whenever he would give a little background on himself. This movie also takes the plot of movie #2 and turns it on it's head. I wish Anton Yelchin (Checov) had a more prominent role but maybe he was only available for a couple of days or maybe he got some of his parts cut (that happens). Anyway, I thought it was excellent and it really was action packed.

I had to hunt for this post. I remember you wrote something about this flick, I just didn't realize it was so long ago. Time flies.